The Insider’s Guide To The Venice Film Festival 2026

The Venice Film Festival is a crown jewel of the cultural calendar. So much so that we can all conjure an image of a Hollywood star in perfectly put-together photocall attire, being borne in a gleaming wooden water taxi across the lagoon, with the city’s palazzos in the backdrop. Recent years have produced Greta Lee in a plunging black satin and green organza Dior look by Jonathan Anderson in 2025, Timothée Chalamet in his scarlet, backless Haider Ackermann look in 2022 and, in 2024, George Clooney and Brad Pitt turning the Wolfs premiere into an old-Hollywood parade.

From September 2 to 12, 2026, the 83rd Venice International Film Festival returns to the Lido, with this instalment offering additional enticement: Venice itself is having an unusually captivating year. Several major hotels have opened or been transformed, the Art Biennale is running concurrently and a new collection of restaurants and bars has evolved where it is worth nipping in between screenings.

The headline opening is Danieli, Venezia, A Four Seasons Hotel, which reopened on July 30 after an extensive transformation by Pierre-Yves Rochon. Its position on Riva degli Schiavoni, near Piazza San Marco, makes it a natural celebrity address and the newly reworked rooms, Rubelli textiles and rooftop Terrazza Danieli are now an extra-special draw.

For something altogether newer, Orient Express Venezia opened this spring inside the 15th-century Palazzo Donà Giovannelli in Cannaregio. There are 47 rooms, suites and residences, restored frescoes and interiors by Aline Asmar d’Amman, with Heinz Beck overseeing the food.

Across the water on Giudecca, Airelles Palladio Venezia is another 2026 debut. A revitalization of historic buildings and gardens opposite the main city means it is decidedly grand, plus its restaurant roster is also absurdly impressive: Matsuhisa by Nobu, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s first Italian abc Kitchens, Villa Frollo by Norbert Niederkofler and pastries by Cédric Grolet.

And then, of course, there is Hotel Cipriani, which remains Hotel Cipriani but with an ever-shinier gleam. Peter Marino’s ongoing redesign has heralded some new suites, a reworked Oro restaurant and, as of this year, Venice’s first permanent Dior Spa.

Koyo Kouoh’s posthumously realized Art Biennale, In Minor Keys, is going to run throughout the festival at the Giardini, Arsenale and across the city, with 110 invited participants and 100 national presentations.

If there’s a rule to bear in mind while you try to take in both, it’s to allow more time for the boat than Google Maps suggests. The direct service toward Lido Casinò can become extremely busy, particularly around major premieres; the vaporetto to Santa Maria Elisabetta followed by a short walk is often less stressful.

The trick is not to spend the entire festival chasing down the action. In this annual Venice moment, you’re just as likely to glimpse a memorable scene away from the red carpet as you are at a premiere.